Construction begins on new Babcock defence facility

South Australian developer Commercial & General has announced a partnership with Babcock Australasia and has commenced construction of a new $31 million integrated, manufacturing, warehouse and office facility in Adelaide. The Torrens Road site in Adelaide’s western suburbs will include a 4,000m2 purpose-built manufacturing and maintenance building that will underpin Babcock’s delivery of support to land and naval defence programs including in-service sustainment for the Collins-class submarine fleet. The project will also include development of a separate 2000m2 administrative support building while the remainder of the one hectare site is being kept in readiness for potential expansion to cater for future AUKUS support. The development incorporates security requirements, specialised IT and large-scale logistics capabilities. Construction was officially launched at a groundbreaking event attended by Premier Peter Malinauskas, Deputy Premier and Minister for Defence and Space Industries Susan Close, Member for Cheltenham Joe Szakacs, Commercial & General Executive Chair Jamie McClurg, Babcock Australasia CEO Andrew Cridland and City of Charles Sturt Mayor Angela Evans. Around 200 construction jobs will be supported through the build process, which will be undertaken by Tandem Building Group and is due to complete in Q3 2024. The increased size of the new facility will enable Babcock to grow the number of ongoing highly skilled jobs from 65 to more than 100 compared with its current Osborne premises, with roles across engineering, project management, HR, finance and commercial. In line with Babcock’s Plan Zero 40 roadmap, the facility has been designed to be operationally net zero from the outset through rainwater harvesting, large scale roof top solar, electric plant and equipment and the use of electric fleet vehicles. The Torrens Road development is being funded through Commercial & General’s latest investment fund, which will retain ownership of the property. Babcock have committed to a long term tenancy agreement. Premier Peter Malinauskas said “South Australia is spearheading the largest, most complex naval shipbuilding and defence projects in our nation’s history. Preparing the infrastructure and skills to support this defence capability is critical, and it relies on strong partnerships such as this one between Commercial & General and Babcock Australasia. Facilities like this will act as a beacon to young South Australians seeking a career that offers huge opportunities.” Babock Australasia CEO Andrew Cridland said “Babcock plays a crucial role in international defence. Now more than ever, what we do matters. We are in an exciting and sustained phase of growth, having secured three landmark contracts totalling more than $1 billion over the past 12 months including a multi-million dollar 10-year contract to upgrade the ADF’s Defence High Frequency Communications System. This new facility will be a critical enabler of our ability to not only service existing land and naval programs but to meet the once-in-a-generation opportunities that will be created in South Australia by the AUKUS trilateral partnership. It will be home to current and future generations of highly talented skilled individuals and teams, who will get to work on some of our country’s largest and most important defence projects right here in Adelaide.” For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Kym Bergmann at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Director of Sales Graham Joss at [email protected]